How would you promote this dog?

So the staff at the rescue I work for has been issued a challenge. We need to get the top ten foster dogs (the ones that have been there the longest) adopted. I was assigned Mattie.

Cute yes? Well she is incredibly shy. And absolutely terrified of men. And loud noises. And kids. She's been in her current foster home since October and still will not come anywhere near the husband. However, she loves women and does really well with other dogs. She's currently doing behavior work with our staff and any behavior work after she gets adopted is covered by the rescue. We can use any avenues we can think of to promote the dog - radio, newspaper, craigslist, whatever. But I need ideas on how to appeal to the right audience, which is presumably single women who are also ninjas and stay home a lot.

Help me Chaz - marketing is not my strong point and I have no idea what I'm doing!!

What about looking into seniors? They usually are home a lot, don't make a ton of noise/excitement, and enjoy a loving companion. Single senior women are often lonely and enjoy something like Mattie. Some senior facilities (the ones with independent living) might allow pets - perhaps advertising her there? Or if there are senior social clubs around, asking if they might let you put up an ad, or a hand-out. The only issue might be grandkids, but if someone has older grandkids, or they don't visit too often and don't mind having a dog who would rather hide in the bedroom while they are visiting...

I agree with possibly an elderly lady. You described my old dog lady to a T. She was terrified of men, loud noises, all of it. She was always afraid of men but did end up warming up to my dad. It took about 5-6 years but it did happen.

She was a great dog I just couldn't take her everywhere. She was happy at home just cuddling and playing with me and even got to the point that I could have her on a leash at home when I had visitors.

Looking back she would have been great with an elderly lady. She was afraid of strangers and noises so she didn't really enjoy being outside or going for walks and instead loved having one on one time and inside games. I'd probably go with newspaper or radio. I think radio would be great because you or someone from the shelter can verbally state everything she'd need or stuff she'd need to avoid. I've found most people will listen closer if it's on a morning radio show compared to just skimming an add on craigslist or the paper.

Personally I've heard too many horror stories of people getting pets from craigslist and reselling them so I avoid it.

IMO, the dog's strongest selling factor is that she's STINKIN cute. You should advertise her in a way that gets her face out there. I'm tellin' ya, someone's going to fall in love at first sight with that dog, and then they'll find a way to deal with the behavior issues to keep her.

IME, when you're trying to market a dog with a few issues, you need to be careful about how to describe those issues. For example, on Petfinder there's a little symbol you can choose that says No Kids. But for this dog, I wouldn't recommend putting that on her posting. Because with the right kids - quiet, gentle kids who don't mind that the dog runs away from them - she'll do fine. And if you're trying to market her to a grandmother whose grandkids occasionally visit, she'll probably do fine; but the grandmother will get scared if she reads No Kids.

This dog does have a lot of pluses: She doesn't need a ton of exercise or mental stimulation, she's quiet, she's non aggressive, she enjoys other dogs, she's very friendly [with women], and most importantly, she and her adopter are supported by a generous and caring rescue group who are invested in her well being and her future. Those are the things you need to focus on with her in your marketing. Then just screen your adopters to find the right home for her.

IMO, the dog's strongest selling factor is that she's STINKIN cute. You should advertise her in a way that gets her face out there. I'm tellin' ya, someone's going to fall in love at first sight with that dog, and then they'll find a way to deal with the behavior issues to keep her.

IME, when you're trying to market a dog with a few issues, you need to be careful about how to describe those issues. For example, on Petfinder there's a little symbol you can choose that says No Kids. But for this dog, I wouldn't recommend putting that on her posting. Because with the right kids - quiet, gentle kids who don't mind that the dog runs away from them - she'll do fine. And if you're trying to market her to a grandmother whose grandkids occasionally visit, she'll probably do fine; but the grandmother will get scared if she reads No Kids.

This dog does have a lot of pluses: She doesn't need a ton of exercise or mental stimulation, she's quiet, she's non aggressive, she enjoys other dogs, she's very friendly [with women], and most importantly, she and her adopter are supported by a generous and caring rescue group who are invested in her well being and her future. Those are the things you need to focus on with her in your marketing. Then just screen your adopters to find the right home for her.

IMO, the dog's strongest selling factor is that she's STINKIN cute. You should advertise her in a way that gets her face out there. I'm tellin' ya, someone's going to fall in love at first sight with that dog, and then they'll find a way to deal with the behavior issues to keep her.

IME, when you're trying to market a dog with a few issues, you need to be careful about how to describe those issues. For example, on Petfinder there's a little symbol you can choose that says No Kids. But for this dog, I wouldn't recommend putting that on her posting. Because with the right kids - quiet, gentle kids who don't mind that the dog runs away from them - she'll do fine. And if you're trying to market her to a grandmother whose grandkids occasionally visit, she'll probably do fine; but the grandmother will get scared if she reads No Kids.

This dog does have a lot of pluses: She doesn't need a ton of exercise or mental stimulation, she's quiet, she's non aggressive, she enjoys other dogs, she's very friendly [with women], and most importantly, she and her adopter are supported by a generous and caring rescue group who are invested in her well being and her future. Those are the things you need to focus on with her in your marketing. Then just screen your adopters to find the right home for her.

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I agree she does have quite a few good qualities. But after having a dog with almost word for word the same issues those are things you should probably bring up.

I know a ton of people who would have looked at Lady and even with me saying some issues she had would instantly think 'she's cute I could deal' when in reality most of them would have had trouble watching her for a day or two.

I agree show how cute she is. Maybe do a morning news or something with prerecorded video. But I still stand by staying with a medium where you can verbally state what she needs an not just using a text only based medium. She has a ton of great qualities but with her personality you absolutely should not gloss over what she needs when getting her info out.

You guys are awesome. First, let me say that the rescue will not let her go to someone that doesn't know what they're getting into. They're very upfront about dogs with issues and they make sure you know what is required of you afterwards. It's a requirement that the adopted dogs get training at our facility and we check in with the families often so it's pretty rare (although it has happened) that a dog drops off the radar. Because Mattie will have continued behavior work there's no way she'll be able to drop off the radar.

And that said, I'm going to do all the things you guys came up with. There's no limit on how we can promote the dog so I can do radio + print + morning news + flyers on the street if I want to. Thank you guys so much for the fantastic ideas!!

I agree she does have quite a few good qualities. But after having a dog with almost word for word the same issues those are things you should probably bring up.

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I TOTALLY agree that you should bring up her issues to potential adopters. I know of rescues that hide bite histories and such just to get the dog adopted, and this is totally wrong.

BUT... At this stage in the game, the OP needs to focus on getting INTEREST in the dog. Get people to fill out applications and inquire about the dog. Then screen the adopters for good candidates, let them know about the dog's issues, and let them try her out if they are ready.

I would do a photoshoot with her. Get some REALLY good pictures that show off her personality & what she loves to do! Appealing the seniors is a good idea... maybe the rescue would be willing to do a senior discount?

What kind of training methods are they using in her foster home? Clicker training helps so much with desensitizing scared dogs... just practicing LAT or BAT daily could help a lot with her fear of men. Not that she would ever enjoy living with a man, but just being calm and confident in public is important.